The first word that described the first church in Jerusalem was devoted (Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” NIV) we desire for that same word to describe the church at City of Refuge Fellowship. Devotion is about humility, about submission and surrender, it’s bowing down, holding on and digging deep. Devotion is a consistent, continual commitment, it is an unwavering pursuit of maturity.
Just as important as the description of the church as devoted is the focus of their devotion: the apostles teaching, the fellowship and prayer. We often refer to these as God’s Word, God’s people and God’s presence. We desire to be a community of believers that are consistently, continually committed to the Scriptures, to our relationships with each other and to prayer. Whether it be through Bible studies, weekly services, our Titus relationships or just sitting around each other’s tables we want to be in the Word together, to pray with and for each other and to be fully devoted to loving each other even as Jesus has loved us.
The church is one body made up of many members (Romans 12:5). We believe that all of us as individuals and all our local churches make up the one Body of Christ. As such, not only are we connected to each other, we must be in partnership together for the glory of Christ and the redemption of souls.
At City of Refuge Fellowship, we often describe ourselves as a “Barnabas” ministry. In the book of Acts Barnabas sold land and gave the money to the Apostles to help serve the church in Jerusalem. He was sent to Antioch and saw the grace of God at work in the new Gentile believers and encouraged them to remain faithful to the Lord. It was Barnabas who brought the newly saved Saul of Tarsus to the Apostles in Jerusalem and then, years later, went and found Saul again and brought him to Antioch so they could work together to teach and encourage the church. At every step of the first church Barnabas was present, coming along side, encouraging and partnership with others. That is our calling.
It is our joy to work with the churches, ministry and believers in our community to see the gospel spread and our neighbors served. We want to come alongside and add to the good work already being done. The Body is most healthy and most effective when all its members are working together. We are convinced that devotion and unity lead to partnership.
Unity has become a cultural byword, but we believe that it is a biblical standard, a calling for God’s people and a clear reflection of God’s character. God Himself exists in perfect unity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God in three persons with no division and no disconnection. The Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, and the Holy Spirit glorifies both the Father and the Son.
As God’s people we are called to represent God’s character by being conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). This means that unity is a vital requirement. The question then becomes, “What is Unity?” Often Amos 3:3 is quoted in a discussion of unity, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” This often makes unity seem as if it is the outcome of agreement, but what Amos is teaching us is that unity is not simply walking with those we agree with but agreeing to walk together. This means that unity is far more about commitment than agreement. The Bible is clear that there is room for disagreement (Romans 14-15) but not division. Unity is about choosing one another, bearing and being patient with one another, loving one another as Jesus has loved us and forgiving one another even as God has forgiven us in Christ.
We desire to be a people of unity, a people that chooses each other because Christ has chosen us, a people who focus on being joined together in Christ. Psalm 133 calls this place of unity good and pleasant. It says that unity is the place of anointing (vs. 2), of provision (vs. 3) and the place where we experience the blessing of knowing God (vs. 4). There will be disagreement, will be disputes, but we are seeking to be a people who always choose unity.
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